By Caitlin Tilley, Dailymail.Com Health Reporter
15:15 January 15, 2024, updated 15:19 January 15, 2024
- Six industry experts to meet on Wednesday to discuss pandemic concerns
- WHO announces Disease X could be 20 times more deadly than the new coronavirus
- Read more: Experts reveal which virus is most likely to cause the next pandemic
World leaders are expected to meet this week to express concerns about the possibility of a future pandemic that could cause 20 times more deaths than the new coronavirus.
A committee led by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Gereyesus of the World Health Organization, in a session called “Preparing for Disease X” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said: We plan to discuss the new initiatives needed to prepare for the future.
Disease X represents a currently unknown hypothetical pathogen. It was added to the WHO list of nine priority diseases in 2018.
On Wednesday, Dr. Geleyesos was joined by Michel Demaret, chairman of the board of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, Nicia Trindade Lima, Brazil’s health minister, Roy Jacobs, CEO of Royal Philips, and executive vice president of Indian hospital chain Apollo. He will be present on Wednesday along with chairman Preeta Reddy and hospital director Shyam Bishen. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Center for Health and Healthcare and the World Economic Forum.
In its list of priority diseases, the WHO states: “Disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic may be caused by a pathogen not currently known to cause disease in humans.” Ta.
The United Nations agency has identified Disease It is ranked.
Experts still don’t know what kind of virus will cause the next pandemic, but scientists have warned for decades that avian influenza is the most likely virus.
Researchers say this is due to the threat of genetic modification, and that high levels of human influenza also increase the risk of co-infection with avian influenza.
Others have long speculated that Disease X is more commonly a zoonotic disease, caused by viruses or bacteria from animals that jump to humans.
Some even warn that Disease X could be caused by a biological mutation, an accident, or a terrorist attack that would shock the world and spread rapidly.
DailyMail.com previously reported that three virus experts say a respiratory virus spread through droplets from coughs and sneezes is most likely to trigger the next fast-spreading disease that causes a global shutdown. I spoke to him.
They said the infamous Disease He said he couldn’t do it. new coronavirus pandemic.
He also cited the 1918 influenza pandemic, which killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide, compared to the 7 million deaths from COVID-19, and said the outbreak is even more likely than the coronavirus pandemic. It could get worse, they warned.
Experts say the biggest culprits of the next pandemic will beother Coronavirus and avian influenza – Viruses that infect birds but can jump to humans.
Five million birds have been culled in the United States this year to prevent outbreaks of the disease.
But experts could not rule out outbreaks of other diseases, such as Ebola, or insect-borne diseases such as malaria or yellow fever.
Some of the most dangerous viruses, such as smallpox, measles, and HIV, originated in animals and later became highly transmissible among humans.
So far, scientists have recognized 25 virus families, each made up of hundreds or thousands of different viruses, any of which can evolve to cause a pandemic.
Worse, they say, there could be more than a million undiscovered viruses that could jump from one species to another, mutate dramatically, and kill millions of humans. I’m guessing.
But there were also silver linings. They pointed to rapid advances in vaccine technology and antiviral drugs as signs that the pharmaceutical industry will be able to quickly roll out treatments the next time a pandemic occurs.
Countries around the world have pledged a total of $1.5 billion (£1.15 billion) to help scientists prepare for Disease X.
The British government has pledged 160 million pounds ($210 million), along with the United States, Japan, Germany, Australia and Norway.
The Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust are also investing in research to tackle Disease X.
News of the World Economic Forum meeting sparked heated debate on social media last week, with extremist accounts claiming that preparations for Disease X could lead to further lockdowns and other shutdown measures.
Monica Crowley, a former Fox News contributor and Treasury Department assistant secretary for public affairs, said during the Trump administration that a new disease prompted world leaders to impose lockdowns, “limiting free speech and destroying more freedoms.” “It will be possible,” he said.
But Dr. Stuart Ray, associate director of data integrity and analysis at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told Fortune that it would be “irresponsible” for world leaders not to come together for a forum.
“While there have been many such events throughout recorded history, the recent coronavirus pandemic has taught us that a quick response can save millions of lives,” he said. .
“Coordinating the public health response is not a conspiracy. It is simply responsible planning.”